Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Mango Lime Sorbet

When I got back from SF, I found a package in my room and couldn't remember what I had ordered. Then I realized it was the box of mangoes I won from Our Best Bites. I had no idea how long they'd been sitting in my warm, stuffy room, so unfortunately a couple of them were in the mushy stage by the time I opened up the box. But the rest were perfectly soft-ripe. Since I was leaving on another weekly long trip, I decided I better try to use most of them up and looked online for a recipe for mango sorbet. I came across Elise's recipe for lime mango sorbet and decided to try that, only I used coconut rum instead of tequila, and I prefer to call it mango lime sorbet because it rolls off the tongue easier.

Heat the sugar, water, and lime zest in a medium saucepan until the sugar has completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Cut the flesh from the mangoes.

Put the mango pieces, sugar water, lime juice, and salt into a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Pour into a medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until completely chilled.

When ready to put the chilled lime mango purée into your ice cream maker, mix in the rum. Process the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the ice cream maker directions. Transfer mixture to a plastic storage container and freeze in your freezer until firm, at least 6 hours.

The rum is added to keep the sorbet from getting too icy, but I think it may have done it's job a little too well because even after freezing overnight, the sorbet was a little too soft for my preference. Next time I'll probably reduce the amount of rum to 2 tablespoons. Next time, I'd probably also strain the lime zest out of the simple syrup before blending with the mango flesh. I didn't like how some of the zest accumulated one the ice cream maker blades, ending up with a bolus of lime zest which was rather bitter to the taste. Otherwise, I really liked how this sorbet wasn't too sweet and was just perfect for a really hot day, like I hear Boston is today.